2026 Candidate Spotlight: Meet Shamieka Preston

COLUMBIA, MD — Shamieka Preston has entered the race for Howard County Council District 4. Patch posed questions to each candidate running for office.

Below you will find Preston's responses, verbatim:

Name: Shamieka Preston
Age on Election Day: 51
Hometown: Columbia, MD
Political Affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website/Facebook page: prestonforpeople.com /
facebook.com/prestonforpeople/

Do you have any previous political experience?
I came to this race as a community advocate, not a career politician. I'm a Cedar Creek resident who co-facilitated the Stop Grace Coalition after W.R. Grace proposed a pyrolysis
plastics facility 200 feet from our homes. We organized, we testified, and we showed up.

The Board of Appeals still hasn't released its written opinion on the latest ruling in Grace’s favor, which means our community cannot yet appeal in court. That fight taught me exactly how local decisions get made, and who gets left out of the conversation when they do. I also serve as a member of the PTA Council of Howard County and spent over 15 years
running a high school mentoring program. That work taught me how to organize, how to be persistent, and how to hold institutions accountable.

What is the single most important issue facing voters in your district?
Affordability, because it sits underneath almost every other issue. When families can't afford to live near where they work, everything gets harder. Teachers, nurses, and first responders who keep this county running can't afford to stay here. Seniors who built this community are being priced out of it. Working families are stretched thinner every year as costs rise for housing, childcare, healthcare, groceries, utilities, you name it! I'll push for robust and enforceable affordable housing requirements in new development, stronger renter protections, senior property tax relief, and down payment assistance programs so more people can build a life here and stay.

How do you differ from other candidates?

I'm running a fully publicly financed campaign through Howard County's Citizens' Election Fund. No PAC money. This matters to me, and it should matter to voters. I've spent years
fighting a multinational chemical company, and through that experience I learned that transparency is everything. As a candidate, I'm working on behalf of Howard County
residents and am beholden to them. How I'm funding this campaign is the clearest evidence of the values I'd bring to the Council.

I will always stand up for the shared values of our Howard Countians. As a PTA parent, I've advocated for fully funded schools. As a neighbor, I stood up against the environmental,
health, and safety hazards of WR Grace's plastics incineration plans. I didn't wait for someone else to advocate for us. I collaborate with neighbors, advocates and experts. I
show up and when necessary, challenge those when they fail to act. I will not let our community members be ignored or dismissed.

Most candidates talk about fighting for the members of our community. I've already done it. I've taken on a powerful corporation and, at times, our own elected officials, because
the health and safety of our families demanded it. I didn't need a title to show up. I didn't need permission to push back. That is what sets me apart.

How would your work experience benefit your goals in office?
I lead large-scale technology implementations in the financial services industry. That means managing complex projects with competing priorities, tight budgets, and high accountability. My earlier career in marketing and communications taught me how to listen carefully and translate complicated information into something people can easily understand.

I'm also an angel investor who has backed startups globally, which means I understand how to evaluate whether an investment creates meaningful value for the
people involved. I'll bring this expertise to the way Howard County plans, spends, and delivers for residents. A resilient local economy and healthy working households are the
same conversation, and I know how to have it.

What is your opinion of the work being done by the current office holder?
The current office holder, Deb Jung, who is running for the County Executive role has been a great supporter of District 4 residents. In my opinion, she has modeled the skills of an
elected official who works for the people. In the broader context of Howard County government, many of us want the culture of how decisions get made needs to change. Too often, residents find out about major decisions, developments, and innovations coming to the county when there's nothing left to do.

A key example is during the school capital budgets hearing when Oakland Mills and Centennial High Schools were promised to be inclusion and then at the last minute, without adequate public explanation, were taken off of the list.
Decisions will get made, decisions will change but without the right level of communication, trust gets lost. In office, I'll push to include community members at the table for key decisions like new development or innovations before decisions are made; create systems for frequent and proactive communications; and lobby for genuine accountability for how county dollars are spent.

How do you feel about the school system and what improvements would you like to see?
Howard County Public Schools is one of the best systems in the country, and I say that as a PTA mom who has watched it from the inside. But this is the first year in recent memory
that we actually committed to fully funding our schools. That should never be in question.

Howard County families shouldn't have to wonder each year whether the school budget will be approved. People move here for our schools. They stay because their families are
thriving in them. If we keep losing teachers and programs that make our schools exceptional, we will pay for it in other ways across the county. The most urgent improvement I want to see is faster action on our deferred maintenance backlog. Every year we delay, those repairs get more expensive. That's not fiscally responsible, and it's not fair to our kids or our staff.

The County Council controls the budget that funds our schools. I intend to use that power to put families first. I'll also work to build a real relationship with the Board of Education so
that funding decisions are made together, based on actual needs and genuine collaboration, not politics.

How do you feel about crime and what steps can be taken to reduce it?
In my opinion, public safety is about more than law enforcement. It is about building a community where every resident feels protected, seen, and treated with dignity. As a daughter of a retired NYPD chief, I have deep respect for the men and women who serve our community. That respect is exactly why I hold the institution to a high standard. I will work in partnership with law enforcement and emergency services to make sure Howard County is a place where every family feels safe, and every officer has the training and support they need to do their job well.

A big part of that is getting ahead of problems before they start. Community policing and accountability go hand in hand. When officers know the people on their beat and residents
know their officers, trust is built and crime is prevented before it starts. That same trust depends on transparent use-of-force policies, meaningful community oversight, and a
department that is open to reviewing its practices when something goes wrong.

I will advocate for community policing best practices where officers are aligned with the neighborhoods they serve, backed by the accountability that makes that relationship real. Getting ahead of problems also means investing in our young people. For over 15 years, I ran a mentoring program designed to make sure high school students had a clear pathway to college. That work taught me that when young people feel seen, supported, and connected to their community, they thrive.

I am committed to making sure every kid in Howard County knows there is a community of people rooting for them. That means investing in real activities and opportunities for
middle and high school students, funding after-school programs, expanding county recreation services, and making sure cost is never a barrier to participation. I also believe in a co-responder model that pairs officers with trained mental health professionals, particularly for calls involving individuals in crisis. Too often, we send law enforcement into situations that require a different kind of expertise. Getting the right responder to the right situation saves lives. Public safety is a shared responsibility. When government, law enforcement, and community are all pulling in the same direction, every resident wins.

What do you think about the economic climate and business sector?
Howard County has the highest median family income in Maryland, and that is a real asset. But that prosperity is not reaching everyone, and federal instability is hitting District 4
households hard right now. Layoffs and uncertainty are squeezing family budgets and county revenue at the same time. We need to be more proactive about job training,
workforce development, and economic diversification so we are not dependent on any single employer or funding source.

My vision is an economy that supports a broad business ecosystem, from startups and small businesses, which make up roughly 80 percent of businesses in the county, to
established corporations and regional employers. That means less red tape, a county government that treats small businesses and entrepreneurs as partners, and smart development that grows our local tax base so we are not stuck raising taxes on residents every time state or federal funding shifts. It also means supporting entrepreneurship,
encouraging redevelopment of existing commercial areas, and working with large employers to hire more Howard County residents.

Every dollar in the county budget should be measured against one question: does it serve working families and the businesses that employ them? Howard County is a diverse, family-centered community where people value education,
creativity, and connection. Economic growth should reflect and reinforce those values. Innovation and growth should never come at the expense of resident health, public safety,
or quality of life. I support a thoughtful approach to emerging industries, including designated innovation corridors where impacts can be closely reviewed and measured before any countywide expansion.

Strong economies depend on clear rules and fair enforcement. When government is consistent and transparent, businesses can invest with confidence and residents can trust that growth is being managed responsibly. The business community and residents are both essential stakeholders in Howard County's future. That is the economy I am committed to building.

How do you feel about transportation options and what should be improved?
Transportation touches every family in Howard County. School buses get our kids to school safely. County buses give teenagers and seniors independence. Regional transit gets many of us to work in Baltimore or DC. And yet our system is falling short on almost every level.

US-29 and US-32 are chronically congested. Downtown Columbia is growing denser without matching transit investment. People who live close to destinations are still forced to drive short distances because pedestrian and bike infrastructure is not safe or connected enough. Getting transportation right is an equity issue as well as an
environmental one.

Let me be specific about where I stand.

On school transportation: Howard County recently extended a five-year contract with a bus provider that left thousands of students stranded in 2023, triggered an independent audit, and has had persistent problems throughout our relationship with them. That extension was made without meaningful public input, and that is exactly the kind of decision that erodes trust. As a Council member, I will demand accountability, transparency, and a real seat at the table for parents and union members in decisions like this.

On local transit: I want to expand bus hours, routes, and coverage, and build stronger regional partnerships with bordering counties and MTA so that Baltimore and DC are
genuinely accessible for residents who depend on public transit.

On biking and walking: I support protected bike lanes connecting neighborhoods to schools and commercial centers, and safer routes to school for kids. Reducing cars on the
road is central to solving congestion, and every decision I back will be grounded in data about where our actual gaps are.

On clean infrastructure: I will push to electrify our county bus fleet and require every new contract to include a clear path to zero-emission vehicles.

Funding these improvements starts with making sure growth pays for itself. I support strong developer accountability so that when new projects increase congestion or strain
our infrastructure, developers contribute their fair share. I will also aggressively pursue state and federal grants for school safety, transit access, and clean infrastructure, backed by transparent budgeting that prioritizes real improvements for families. Transportation is infrastructure. It is equity. And it is long overdue for the investment our community deserves.

What else would you like voters to know about you?
I grew up in public housing with my mom in Brooklyn, spending weekends in the suburbs of Queens with my dad. Moving between those two worlds shaped how I see opportunity, community, and what government can and should do for people. I built a career, raised a family, and chose to move to Columbia because of our shared values of an inclusive, family-oriented, environmentally friendly community. I love this community. I'm running because I believe Howard County government can do better for the families and seniors who make it what it is. I'd be honored to earn your vote on June 23rd.